Ten hour queue to mourn 'symbol of unity'

An estimated 70,000 people queued for up to 10 hours to pay their respects to the Queen Mother yesterday, winding more than two miles from Westminster Hall, over Lambeth bridge, and along the South Bank to Blackfriars bridge

Everyone had their own reason for coming. Alan Kirby, 52, saw the Queen Mother's death as symbolising the loss of values struggling to survive in modern society. He said: "The Queen Mother exemplified the passion, the duty and respect for others which is sadly, generally, lacking today. It's self first."

Mr Kirby, like so many others queueing, wanted to bear witness to history, mourn for Queen Mother, and also mourn for lost values: "It's the passing of an era when respect and pride were of primary importance. Like every human being she had her faults. She was very dedicated."

Just after 2.30pm Mr Kirby was last in the queue just outside the Tate Modern gallery. Within 10 minutes there were more than 100 people behind him.

Twenty minutes behind Mr Kirby, Mabel and Napoleon Chinosa were at the back of the queue. "It's history," said Mabel, 41. Napoleon, 50, a Labour supporter said: "I'm a monarchist. She was a focal point for this country. A symbol of unity."

With them was their daughter Ese, six. If the worst predictions were true she would turn seven early today still waiting in the queue. "I think I would have preferred to stay home," she said, her tongue turned red from chomping on a bag of candy floss she was carrying.

Maureen McClelland, 50, had just flown in from Belfast to join the queue. It cost her £125 for her plane ticket and £90 for two nights in a hotel so she could stay to see the funeral. "The Queen Mother was brilliant in every way, an icon," she said.

The mood of the crowd was markedly different from that after the death of Princess Diana. Instead of an aura of emotion there was one of respect, no one was sobbing. The crowds were mostly middle aged to old, and at times it resembled the people who go to the Ideal Home Exhibition.

Some passers-by mocked. One, seeing a mourner being interviewed for television on the willingness to queue, shouted: "I'm going to queue for three days because I haven't got a life."

An American tourist shook his head at the size of the crowds and said: "Can you believe this country?"

Moira Lynn, 33, of east London, said: "People have more respect for the royal family than the press lets on.

"It still means something, it's part of our tradition, history and the royal family is something that makes Britain special, gives continuity."

Jason Oakes, 29, of central London, said: "The royal family deserve our support at a time like this."

Some in the crowd suggested that the large numbers of people turning up yesterday demonstrated the continuing popularity of the royal family.